NJ Governor Takes Action on Two Critical Bills
In June, the Legislature passed the EOA 2014 (Part 3) making numerous changes to last year's stimulus legislation - EOA 2013 -- which expanded the Grow NJ and Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant programs.
One of the most important amendments is the extension of the deadline by which a developer of a residential project must submit a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) -- from July 2015 to July 2018. As we anticipated, the Governor's CV did not revise the July 2018 date, which is very welcome news. If the Assembly and Senate vote to concur with the CV, this will pave the way for developers to file Residential ERG applications for tax credits, leading to much needed economic activity in high priority areas.
Given the recent casino closings and loss of jobs, the Governor used his veto power to revise EOA 2014 to make available the highest level of tax incentives to eligible projects in Atlantic City. He did this by proposing to amend the definition of Garden State Growth Zone to include Atlantic City, and also by including Atlantic City in some of the special provisions that only apply to Camden. The tax credits for Atlantic City will focus on non-gaming projects.
Once the Legislature acts on the CV and assuming it votes to concur, we'll provide a summary of EOA 2014 and how it revises the development and job growth programs in the Garden State.
Moratorium on Non-Residential Development Fees - Conditional Veto
The Legislature also passed a bill that would retroactively reinstate the moratorium on the imposition of non-residential development fees until December 31, 2014. The fees were first instituted to help fund affordable housing. The original moratorium expired on July 1, 2013 and was enacted to spur development in the face of a prolonged economic downturn. The Governor conditioned signing the new moratorium bill on passage of significant changes to the affordable housing laws. It remains to be seen whether the Legislature will take up the Governor's proposals.
Contact Us
We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions.
- Anthony R. Coscia, Partner, 732.846.2120, acoscia@windelsmarx.com
- Charles B. Liebling, Partner, 732.448.2526, cliebling@windelsmarx.com
- Julie R. Tattoni, Special Counsel, 732.448.2559
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